Elon Musk, who recently surprised the world with his purchase of Twitter, has been a constant focus of news in recent years. Although not all the information has to do with the business world, in one way or another, any action this billionaire takes has repercussions for his companies. One of the most talked-about possibilities of late is whether or not he would be able to sell Tesla.
And while there is no consensus on this possibility, as we shall see, it is not out of the question either. Musk has a history of selling a successful ongoing business if he feels it has met its objectives: there’s PayPal to prove it.
What happened to Tesla after Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter?
The news has not been very good for Tesla. In the two weeks following the purchase of Twitter, Tesla lost no less than 21.15% of its share value since 25 April, a drop that represents a decline of more than 200 billion dollars.
This fall cannot be attributed exclusively to the Twitter purchase; other factors, such as the Shanghai plant shutdown due to COVID-19 restrictions, are also behind this depreciation.
However, there is also no denying that the purchase of Twitter has had a significant impact. For many investors, the doubts about the origin of the $44 billion purchase price and Musk’s alleged disinterest in Tesla are too great. And this is translating into a decline in investment interest.
Can Tesla really sell?
To begin with, we have to take into account Musk’s stated concept of Twitter: he has the idea of a private, unlisted company, which means he should take full control of its shares.
On the other hand, although we are talking about the richest man in the world, a large part of his wealth is placed in the value of his companies, mainly Tesla and Space X.
To all this, we must add the fact of background. Elon Musk sold PayPal, which is still a successful company when he considered that his objectives in the project had already been achieved. He was looking for new business challenges.
With this situation and this background, it is not out of the question that the possibility of selling part or even all of a mature company such as Tesla could arise. For this to happen, two scenarios would have to occur.
The first possibility would be that Musk considers that, as a mature company, his goals have been achieved. He has done this before, and it would not be surprising. On the other hand, let’s remember that the billionaire is directly linked to many innovative companies in the growth or future projection phase.
The second scenario would be that the economic need for the purchase of Twitter would come from the liquidity that Tesla could generate. This situation is not unlikely either, given that, even with the depreciation in the value of its shares, the company is still worth more than 800 billion dollars.
In short, although it is still speculation, the possible sale of Tesla is not an impossibility. Musk has shown that he is not afraid to make complex or drastic business decisions on many occasions.